“Helping kids Learn through Play”

Forest School

Hilmarton Pre-school runs Forest School activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year. Twice a week, the children spend the morning Pre-school session outdoors in an extensive area of woodland on the outskirts of the village on Tuesday and Thursday morning.

What is Forest School?

Forest School is a secure area of woodland, which acts as an outdoor classroom where children can explore, investigate and discover the natural environment. Forest School provides an excellent opportunity to bring learning to life, allowing the children to explore and learn in a constructive way. This inspirational process increases self-confidence, self-esteem, improves individuals’ ability to work co-operatively and counters a lack of motivation and negative attitude towards learning, while offering the opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning for themselves.

We make the most of the unique resources available by using lots of natural materials, working (with appropriate levels of adult support) with tools and fires, and encouraging high levels of independence and team work. Forest School sessions will follow a pattern that the children will feel comfortable with. We will begin with a getting to know the woodland area, our boundaries and what keeps us safe. We will introduce new activities for each forest visit, they will range from going on a bug hunt, making a forest friend from the natural resources available, making dream catchers, to making dens ...the forest is our oyster! Of course we will break for a yummy, well-earned outdoor snack and hot drink (warmed by our own fire!).

What does your child need for Forest School?

For each Forest School session we would ask you to ensure that your child comes to school suitably dressed for the trip. In good weather, they will need to have had sun cream applied, light long sleeve trousers/leggings and tops, sturdy shoes and sunhats. In wet and cold weather we will need them to have warmer long sleeve tops and trousers, a jumper, sturdy shoes and waterproof coats and trousers, scarves, gloves and a warm hat. However we want the children to feel relaxed and happy in the forest and appreciate that not much fun and learning can be had when soggy and cold. Should our forest sessions look destined to be spoilt by heavy rain or other extreme weather we will not attempt to soldier on and instead open as usual either in the School Hall or the School’s much closer wooded area.